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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

10 Scenes That Earn Brad Pitt a Career Pass

I’ve never felt Brad Pitt has gotten a fair shake. I
get it. He’s the pretty boy. The impossibly successful A-lister who always has an
impossibly attractive female in tow. The guy who makes the big bucks by cashing
in on his looks. And. So. On.

I’ve called bullshit on the popular notion of discrediting
Brad Pitt from the onset. I think he’s a hell of an actor, and I’ve been a fan
of his flamboyant comedy and restrained drama since as long as he’s been
flexing his craft on screen. Here are 10 specific scenes that I personally feel
make him great at what he does.

True Romance (1993)

Here’s a funny preproduction story about True Romance. Mere days before Pitt was
set to play Michael Rapaport’s aimless roommate, Floyd, he called director
Tony Scott and said, “What if Floyd is a stoner?” Scott loved the idea. Pitt
pushed it more: “But what if he never gets off the couch?”

Scott was sold, and the result is one of the most hilarious
incarnations of a stoner ever caught on film. True Romance is filled with scene stealing performances, but none
are more humorously pathetic than poor Floyd offering a bong hit to half a
dozen lethal Italian gangsters. Bliss.

Se7en (1995)

Once Pitt’s Det. Mills learns what’s in the box (“WHAT WAS
IN THE BOOOOOX?!”), Pitt plays the scene expertly. He’s devastated, furious,
ruined. In the span of about four seconds, his life as he knows it is completely changed. It’s the most gut wrenching moment of Pitt’s career. I
simply cannot imagine any other actor playing it any other way.

Sleepers (1996)

When we first meet the grown Michael Sullivan, he’s years
into his master plan of ruining the lives of the four men who ruined his. To
silence the four guards who sexually and physically abused him and his friends
in a juvenile home, Michael puts a plan in motion to literally get away with
murder. There’s a great moment in the middle of his extended debrief of the
details in which his old friend, Shakes (Jason Patric) asks Michael, “How long
have you been working on this?”

Michael doesn’t even pretend to hear the question. He’s been
working his whole life to fuck these men over. No explanation need.

Ocean’s Twelve (2004)

Brad Pitt is a cool cat, and the reunion scene Rusty Ryan
has with his ex girlfriend (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is one of the coolest scenes
of Pitt’s career. After secretly breaking into her apartment, Pitt and
Zeta-Jones dive into an exquisitely paced give-and-take, in which he throws gems
around like: “That’s a nice pull, by the way. Did you get that tingling
sensation down your spine when you did it? Or is that none of my business?”

Yes, I love Ocean’s
Twelve. Yes, I think it is by far the best of Soderbergh’s trilogy. But
moving past that, the way Pitt plays this scene – confident but shy, cool but
afraid – is simply priceless.

Babel (2006)

The best scene of Brad Pitt’s career culminates with him
silently mouthing the words Thank You in the work of art that is Babel. I’m not going to mention more here, but
just know that the summation of Pitt’s character arc in this film is something
that never, not once, fails to move me. (You can read more about my thoughts on this scene here.)

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
(2007)

The complexity the goes into the line, “Don’t that picture
look dusty?” and the immediate subsequent act of walking that follows, marks my
favorite scene from this underrated gem.

Jesse James knows.
He’s ready and willing.

Burn After Reading (2008)

I’m using most of this post to highlight Pitt’s excellence
in dramatic work, but make no mistake: this man is goddamn funny. Case in
point: Chad Feldheimer from the Coen brothers’ overlooked Burn After Reading. In order to work, Chad is the type of role that
an actor can only play one way, which is by going all in. The hair, the speech,
the mannerisms – I find every little thing about Chad to be utterly hilarious.

Choosing a best scene is tough, but it’s hard to beat Chad
crank calling Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) in an attempt to sell Cox his
misplaced CIA files. Chad’s flamboyant gleefulness of the deception, only
to be shattered by the situation's inevitable outcome, is the funniest thing
Pitt has ever achieved on screen.

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

The scene in question includes, but is not limited to, the
following lines of dialogue from Pitt:

“Bonjourno.”

“Grazie.”

“Ci…er, correcto.”

“Arrivederci.”

Enough said.

The Tree of Life (2011)

There’s a scene late in The
Tree of Life that perfectly summarizes the troubled family dynamic the
film depicts. Pitt’s stern Mr. O’Brien has a quiet, humbling chat with his
oldest son Jack, in which he relents that he may have been too tough on Jack and
his brothers. Jack looks at him and says it’s fine because he’s, “More like you
than her.”

Look at Pitt’s eyes when young Hunter McCracken utters that
line. His face is equal appreciation, heartbreak, satisfaction and guilt. It’s
one of the most subtle, beautiful, and fucking devastating moments of Pitt’s
career.

Moneyball (2011)

Moneyball is a
late bloomer of a film if there ever was one. I enjoyed it greatly upon first
viewing, but didn’t think about it much after. Now, it gets better every time I
watch it. It’s a very purposefully reserved film, and Pitt’s controlled
performance is the best thing about it.

There are many
aspects of his performance that I admire, but none strike me more then the
film’s final, perfect moment in which Pitt’s Billy Beane listens to a demo track his
daughter has put together for him. At its core, it’s nothing more then a father
silently admiring his daughter. Dig deeper, and it says everything you need to
know about his character. That is the
movie.

58 comments:

I've seen Se7en of these (bad pun) and all of them are great scenes. I also love him in Snatch and he's great in all the Oceans. Me and my friend used to talk about great Brad Pitt films a fair amount(Pitts his favorite actor) and got some odd looks to say the least.

It's weird. I'm not that much of a fan of his yet I'm always drawn to him whenever he's onscreen. (And I'm not saying that because of his obvious good looks.)

I don't remember much about the film, but I remember one later scene in Babel when he calls home. It's just when he hears his son's voice he knows he just can't tell him about what happened to his mother. He can't even stay composed during the call. I just love it.

Oh, and most of his scenes in 12 Monkeys are just completely standout. (I love how his complete craziness was just the result of nicotine withdrawal.)

Ah christ, that scene in Babel is just a killer. I saw an interview with Alejandro González Iñárritu and he said he purposefully pushes his actors to the brink of exhaustion for a performance. The interviewer was like, "But why?" and Iñárritu said, "That scene when Brad is on the phone at the hospital... that's why."

But no, I love Brad Pitt. He is sooo much more than a pretty face. I've come to realise that he's a lot like Leo Di Caprio in terms of serious-ish roles that he takes, but he isn't so desperate for award attention. Which then lets him focus on some amazing roles. I loooved him in Tree of Life, which I thought to be his better performance of last year.

Oh I love him in Fight Club, no question about that, but I was hoping to draw some attention to smaller performances that people may not have seen. Ya dig? (PS, if you had to pick a favorite Pitt scene from Fight Club, what would you pick?)

I too think his performance in The Tree of Life was his best role of last year. Devastating work.

Love it, and I love you for including Floyd, who was my introduction to Pitt and had me endeared to him from the start.

Though I'm with Anna...12 Monkeys deserved consideration somewhere.

I'm also with you on the overall take on Pitt. From (pretty much) the start, the guy has gone out of his way to hide his looks, constantly (True Romance, Kalifornia, 12 Monkeys, etc.) ugly-ing himself up, and I've respected him all the more for it. It's almost rare that he does use his looks, and the films in which he does are often the worst ones (The Mexican, Mr. and Mrs. Smith).

But Ocean's 12 far and away the best? I've come to enjoy it, but that's still going too far for me.

12 Monkeys is the ish, but I tried to stay away from the Jeffrey Goines' and Tyler Durdens and Benjamin Buttons and (hopefully) draw people to the Michael Sullivans and Jesse James' and so on. I love him in 12 Monkeys, no question.

Couldn't agree more that when he uglifies himself, he often generates a killer performance. The dude has definitely had some duds, but I'm really glad to see people dig his work as much as I do.

Thanks for the comment Dylan! Oh and yeah, Ocean's Twelve, love the hell out of it. Batshit nuts, right?

Glad I'm not the only one who insists Brad Pitt is pretty underrated, while everyone else thinks he's overrated (because of his looks and popularity). I really love him as an actor, and, while it wasn't on here, felt he put out such a strong performance in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, playing a old, old man, to a young teen, and personifying everything that comes with those ages.

I'd love to see Brad win an Oscar (seeing as Angelina has one, I feel this is only fair!), and hopefully this happens soon! Love the list, really need to catch up on my Pitt movies!

Loving all this Pitt love. I think Benjamin Button is Fincher's weakest film, but I do love Pitt's work in it (and most everyone else's work, too). The man definitely deserves an Oscar. Someday... hopefully.

Yes to Chad! Chad is my favorite Brad Pitt performance. I couldn't stop laughing at everything Brad Pitt was doing in that film. His character is so stupid but he's such a loveable guy. The way he dances in the car while taking a sip is one of those small moments I love in a film that really underwhelmed me.

On a related note. There was a period that I thought Brad Pitt was just a pretty boy during the mid-90s. There's a moment in Nine Inch Nails' Self-Destruct tour documentary where David Bowie pointed at then-NIN multi-instrumentalist Danny Lohner and said "Brad Pitt" as a way to make fun of him and Lohner said something about Brad Pitt as if he was the shittiest actor of that time.

I'll join the chorus of those who have mentioned 12 Monkeys. For me, that and Kalifornia were the films that cemented Pitt as an actor to watch. He had the option of going the pretty-boy route, punching out an insipid rom-com every nine months. Instead, he took challenging roles that pushed him in vastly different directions and played against his looks but emphasized his talent.

I love that everyone writes about Brad Pitt currently. He has been quite underrated in his earlier years, but I think he's getting more appreciation at the time.The scene from Inglorious Basterds is so funny - I just re-watched the film recently. And of course, the Babel and Tree of Life scenes are wonderful too. Haven't seen any of the other films yet, sadly.

I love that he's getting more appreciation now than ever too. And hey, Bastereds, Babel and Tree of Life is a great start to my list above. Definitely check out Se7en ASAP, it is THE serial killer thriller.

You know, my initial reaction was that yeah, I hold DiCaprio to slightly higher esteem than Pitt, but I just don't know. Might have to rate them equally. Gosling though, damn. That dude has got it, pure and simple.

Great list, I think Brad Pitt is a great actor- it's just that people sometimes don't go beyond the appearance (I do understand them, he is gorgeous). I haven't seen True Romance and I keep hearing about it, so I will try to rent it soon, is it worth it?BTW, as I said on Twitter, my favorite Brad Pitt scene is the one in Fight Burn, when he intentionally burn's Norton's character hand- I really don't know why, but I just love that scene!

Great post! I'm glad you mentioned Burn After Reading -- I do think it's among the most overlooked of the Coen films, and it's freaking hilarious. "I thought you might be worried ... about the security ... of your shit."

I do too -- even thinking about him cracks me up. Quoting his lines is a popular pastime around our house.

I didn't appreciate Brad Pitt all that much for many years. Maybe the fact that so many women of my generation said he was "the sexiest man who ever lived" made me less inclined to take him seriously? Anyway, I'm glad I've re-evaluated him in recent years with movies like Burn After Reading and Inglorious Basterds. Love him!

Glad to see some trumpeting of the work in BURN AFTER READING. I'm not especially over-zealous on the Coens, although I can appreciate their work more often than not, but I find the entire film is woefully forgotten in their canon, particularly bizarre for me since I think it's one of the finest comedies of the last decade. Pitt is particularly ace for me (it's my favourite supporting performance of the year) and it's not even my favourite of his.

It's not necessarily better than the ten performances cited here, but I'd like to submit a send-up to his work in MR AND MRS SMITH - a Hollywood blockbuster that exists firmly in the frame of old star-power blockbusters and re-affirms Pitt's ability to exude star power without being lazily flip doing it.

Burn After Reading is funny that way, isn't it? I too consider it one of my favorite comedies, yet when I'm thinking about Coen brothers flicks, it is never one of the first to be recalled. Either way, great movie, great performance.

Interesting take on Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I'm not a big fan of that film, but I do like his work in it. That little skip/air punch out of frustration once he realizes his weapons have been stolen is priceless.

Kudos for this article; I dig Brad Pitt. I guess people underestimate him because he's so good-looking and suchlike. Same with Clooney, DiCaprio...just jealously, really. Luckily I'm ten times as good-looking as any of them so I have no such feelings of animosity.

Great picks Alex, Pitt is a fantastic actor who as you say doesn't get the credit he deserves. He's usually the best thing in whatever movie he's in. I found his clueless gangster role in The Mexican to be enjoyable for example.I've probably told you before but Oceans Twelve is my favourite of the three too.

yeah its the most soderbergh of the three, he indulges every last artistic ideal in his arsenal and it works. it's his own homage to godard and the new wave. plus everything is so tongue-in-cheek it hurts my ribs afterwards.

Love this! While I don't think people discount Brad Pitt at all, I do think he doesn't get all the credit he deserves. While it's not my favorite actor, he is a pretty great one with a great career films, especially in the last 10 years. I think others mentioned "12 Monkeys" and "Fight Club" which I would have put at the top of the list and take out "Burn After Reading" which I didn't really care for. And what about "Ben Button"? I hope that he may quite acting soon. I hope it's not true!

I just remembered that Killing Them Softly is pretty much how I found this blog. I looked up something on Google Images (I forgot what it was and why I was searching for it) and I came across a completely unrelated image from the film. Recognizing the image, I got curious and clicked on the link which led to your review of it and the rest is history.

Seriously, Brad Pitt is an overrated actor (I mean, like everybody here knows his name. I saw once a news report about a romanian guy changed his name in Bred Pit) with a lot of underrated roles (True Romance, Sleepers, Snatch, The Mexican, Babel, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Burn After Reading, Killing Them Softly, The Counselor). Still haven't seen True Romance, Ocean’s Twelve, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford or The Tree of Life. But I love him in a lot of these stuff. He puts good work in Inglourious Basterds...in the second part of the film, I mean seriously, he gets into his character in the second part of the film. He is great in these films but here's my problem. He plays HIMSELF in a lot of these films. As an artist, he can't grow unless he play an very edgy character or other character than Brad Pitt. His work in all these amazing films is fantastic but he should do more stuff like 12 Monkeys, Fight Club, Snatch and Burn After Reading.

I agree that in a lot of his previous roles, he's essentially playing the same guy. But I think he's actively trying to change that now, which is great. He's giving himself smaller, more character-based roles, and I think it's turning out really well.